This week I traveled to Andrews, Texas to speak at the Sandhills Beef Conference.  Thanks to Caleb Eaton for the invitation to come and speak on grazing leases.  To those of you joining the blog from that presentation, welcome!  Here are a couple of at law stories in the news this week.

* Texas Legislators Eye Gulf To Solve Water Issues.  The Texas Tribune published a great article discussing proposed bills in Austin related to turning to the gulf and desalination to solve Texas’ ongoing water problems.  As the article explains, lawmakers are seeking to expand the options for finding additional water for Texas and seek to ensure the legal framework is in place for these type of projects.  [Read article here.]

* Missouri Supreme Court Upholds State’s Righto to Farm Statute.  Earlier this week, the Missouri State Court upheld the constitutionality of the state’s right to farm statute.  Plaintiffs filed suit against Cargill Pork and Bohr farms alleging numerous claims related to odors emitting from a hog farm.  Recognizing that the Missouri Right to Farm statute provided an affirmative defense to these claims, the plaintiffs argued that the statute was unconstitutional.  Specifically, they argued that the statute authorized a private taking, authorized a taking without just compensation, violates the equal protection clause, violates the due process clause, among other state law claims.  The Supreme Court rejected each argument, holding that the statute is constitutional.  [Read opinion here.]

* Important Farm Succession Planning Factors.  My friend and Texas A&M alum Cari Rincker recently published a blog post offering 7 factors to consider when developing a farm succession plan.  Her post is practical and helpful to farm families trying to navigate succession planning issues.  [Read post here.]

* Minor Revision to Syngenta Corn Litigation Fact Sheet.  Last week, we shared with you a fact sheet discussing the Syngenta Corn litigation going on between farmers and Syngenta related to MIR162 seed.  We have made minor revisions to the paragraph titled “What if I did not grow Viptera or Duracade?”  The revisions are to make clear that Texas A&M Agrilife Extension takes no position on the merits of the lawsuit.  To view the revised fact sheet, just click here.